# 1952 United States Olympic trials (track and field)

The men's 1952 United States Olympic trials for track and field were held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on June 27 and 28. The 10 kilometer walk trials were held in New York City on June 1, and the 50 kilometer walk trials were held on May 4 in Baltimore, Maryland. Three marathon trials were held between two races, the AAU National Championships in Yonkers, New York for both 1951 and 1952, on May 27, 1951 and May 18, 1952 and the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 19. Victor Dyrgall and Tom Jones finished 1–2 at both 1952 races to win selection. 1951's second placer John Lafferty was selected after finishing fifth in the same race in 1952. The 10,000 meters was held in Long Beach, California on June 20.
The decathlon was held a week after the trials on July 1-2 at the hometown track of the defending Olympic champion, Bob Mathias in Tulare, California.
The Women's Olympic trials were held separately in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 1. The women's events didn't even record non-winning times. The women threw the American sized 8 Lb. implement. The process was organized by the AAU.

## Men's results

Key: ≠ Athlete without "A" standard, not selected.

### Men track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| 100 meters | Art Bragg | 10.5 | Lindy Remigino | 10.6 | Dean Smith Jim Gathers | 10.6 |
| 200 meters | Andy Stanfield | 20.6 =WR | Thane Baker | 20.9 | Jim Gathers | 20.9 |
| 400 meters | Mal Whitfield | 46.9 | Eugene Cole | 47.1 | Ollie Matson | 47.3 |
| 800 meters | Mal Whitfield | 1:48.6 | John Barnes | 1:50.6 | Reggie Pearman | 1:50.6 |
| 1500 meters | Bob McMillen | 3:49.3 | Warren Druetzler | 3:50.8 | Javier Montes | 3:51.1 |
| 5000 meters | Curtis Stone | 14:27.0 | Wes Santee | 14:32.0 | Charlie Capozzoli | 14:43.9 |
| 10,000 meters | Curtis Stone | 30:33.4 | Fred Wilt | 30:40.9 | Horace Ashenfelter | 30:45.8 |
| 110 m hurdles | Harrison Dillard | 14.0 | Jack Davis | 14.1 | Art Barnard | 14.2 |
| 400 m hurdles | Charles Moore | 50.7 | Dewey Lee Yoder | 51.3 | Roland Blackman | 51.6 |
| 3000 m s'chase | Horace Ashenfelter | 9:06.4 NR | Bill Ashenfelter | 9:07.1 | Browning Ross | 9:08.3 |
| 10K racewalk | Henry Laskau | 47:45 | Frank LaMorte | 50:13 | Price King | 51:39 |
| 50K racewalk | Leo Sjogren | 4:46:52 | Adolf Weinacker | 4:47:02 | John Deni | 4:48:40 |
| 1951 Yonkers Marathon | Jesse van Zant | 2:37:12.5 | John Lafferty | 2:37:36 | Walter Fedorick | 2:40:02 |
| Boston Marathon | Dorento Flores Guatemala Victor Dyrgall | 2:31:53 2:36:40 | Luis Velasgues Guatemala Tom Jones | 2:40:08 2:43:29 | Norman Tamanaha | 2:51:55 |
| 1952 Yonkers Marathon | Victor Dyrgall | 2:38:28.4 | Tom Jones | 2:42:22.2 | Ted Corbitt | 2:43:23 |

### Men field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Walter Davis | 6 ft 9 in (2.05 m) | Ken Wiesner | 6 ft 73⁄4 in (2.02 m) | Arnold Betton | 6 ft 6875 in (176.45 m) |
| Pole vault | Bob Richards | 4.48 m (14 ft 8+1⁄4 in) | Don Laz | 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) | George Mattos | 4.40 m (14 ft 5 in) |
| Long jump | Jerome Biffle | 7.73 m (25 ft 4+1⁄4 in) | Meredith Gourdine | 7.67 m (25 ft 1+3⁄4 in) | George Brown | 7.66 m (25 ft 1+1⁄2 in) |
| Triple jump | George Shaw | 15.38 m (50 ft 5+1⁄2 in) | Jim Gerhardt | 15.13 m (49 ft 7+1⁄2 in) | Walter Ashbaugh | 15.11 m (49 ft 6+3⁄4 in) |
| Shot put | Darrow Hooper | 17.41 m (57 ft 1+1⁄4 in) | Parry O'Brien | 17.38 m (57 ft 1⁄4 in) | Jim Fuchs | 17.36 m (56 ft 11+1⁄4 in) |
| Discus throw | Sim Iness | 53.29 m (174 ft 10 in) | Fortune Gordien | 52.87 m (173 ft 5 in) | Jim Dillion | 52.78 m (173 ft 1 in) |
| Hammer throw | Martin Engel | 55.60 m (182 ft 4 in) | Samuel Felton | 55.47 m (181 ft 11 in) | Bob Backus | 53.66 m (176 ft 0 in) |
| Javelin throw | Bill Miller | 71.84 m (235 ft 8 in) | Cy Young | 71.37 m (234 ft 1 in) | Franklin "Bud" Held | 68.34 m (224 ft 2 in) |
| Decathlon | Bob Mathias | 7829 | Milt Campbell | 7055 | Floyd Simmons | 6804 |

## Women's results
### Women track events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| 100 meters | Mae Faggs | 12.1 | Janet Moreau | Catherine Hardy |
| 200 meters | Catherine Hardy | 24.3 | Mae Faggs | Dolores Dwyer |
| 80 m hurdles | Constance Darnowski | 11.8 | Teresa Manuel | Caroline McDermott |

### Women field events

| Event | Gold | Gold | Silver | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| High jump | Ora Lee Allen | 1.52 m (4 ft 11+3⁄4 in) | Loita Mauer | 1.47 m (4 ft 9+3⁄4 in) | Marion Boos | 1.47 m (4 ft 9+3⁄4 in) |
| Long jump | Mabel Landry | 5.56 m (18 ft 2+3⁄4 in) | Joan Wolski | 5.00 m (16 ft 4+3⁄4 in) | Nancy Phillips | 4.88 m (16 ft 0 in) |
| Shot put (8 Lb.) | Janet Dicks | 12.89 m (42 ft 3+1⁄4 in) | Amelia Bert | 12.82 m (42 ft 1⁄2 in) | Doris Sutter | 11.34 m (37 ft 2+1⁄4 in) |
| Discus throw | Janet Dicks | 33.00 m (108 ft 3 in) | Marjorie Larney | 32.63 m (107 ft 0 in) | Amelia Bert | 32.49 m (106 ft 7 in) |
| Javelin throw | Marjorie Larney | 40.73 m (133 ft 7 in) | Amelia Bert | 37.80 m (124 ft 0 in) | Janet Dicks | 35.69 m (117 ft 1 in) |